20 March 2009

2006 R Wines Luchador Shiraz

I love the idea of a wine named after a wrestler. Even though I'm not personally a fan (despite growing up in Memphis, an influential city in pro-wrestling history), there's something about the pageantry, over-the-top acting, and stock characters that is reminiscent of a stylized artform like commedia dell'arte. In the Mexican tradition, such garish grapplers are known as luchadores.

The 2006 R Wines Luchador Shiraz is yet another amusingly-labeled wine from the folks at The Grateful Palate. $16, 15.5% abv. 95% Shiraz and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon from the McLaren Vale and Barossa Valley of South Australia. Vegetal nose with hints of grass clippings. Blackberry, cherry, and plum flavors, with a back end of spice. Firm, drying tannins.

This is a great burger or pizza wine, and would be fun to take to a party. Some people get tired of the puns and silly labels on some wines, but when you have so many others that are intimidated by the general concept of wine, every little bit helps.

3 comments:

I wrote this about a month ago and it rattled around in the publishing queue...

I don't recall the wine being hot, but I'm doing a lot more decanting and breathing these days, and that tends to lessen the impact of the high alcohol wines.

I do remember that it wasn't particularly balanced. If you're in the mood for a big, ballsy fruit bomb from Oz, this wine works pretty well. I happened to be in the mood for that style at the time.

I once stayed up all night before teaching a class--not because I was nervous or had work to do, but because the hotel had ESPN Classic. I got hooked on a marathon of the best boxing matches of the past 30 years. Not something I'd do on a regular basis, but at the time it was a lot of fun. Occasionally I like an oenological punch in the face as well.

I've had the 2006 Luchador, and it was def. good! Just bought two 2007s the other day. Balance is relative at that level of alkyhol; Benito's image of an oenological punch in the face being good every now ant then fits this wine perfectly.